Keith Urban marked his return to the stage, making it his first show since news of his split from wife Nicole Kidman was revealed.

The country superstar played at Giant Center in Hershey, Penn. where he arrived via private jet earlier in the day.

During the show, which was a part of Urban’s High and Alive World Tour, the guitarist did include a photo of Kidman and their daughters in a slideshow shown onscreen as he sang his 2024 song Heart Like a Hometown.

Urban then shared a personal story with his fans, about his parents allowing him to drop out of school to pursue music full-time.

The Messed Up As Me singer has been on tour this summer for his High and Alive World Tour, and has more shows scheduled through mid-October.

Keith Urban also caused buzz when he changed the lyrics to the popular Carrie Underwood duet, The Fighter, which was inspired by his early days of romance with Kidman.

Usually the lyrics are “I’ll be your fighter” but he recently sang the song and gave a shoutout to band member Maggie Baugh, singing that he’d “be your guitar player.”

Nicole Kidman filed for divorce from Keith Urban on September 30, after almost 19 years of marriage and cited the reason as irreconcilable differences.

• PTI didn’t request reserved seats at any judicial forum: SC
• Top court on June 27 had deprived PTI of reserved seats.
• Apex court accepted review pleas by majority 7-3.
  

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that relief could not be extended to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) by invoking the power of complete justice under Article 187 of the Constitution.

A ten-member bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, issued the detailed ruling. The bench also included Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Naeem Akhter Afghan, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, The News reported.

The apex court on June 27 had deprived the PTI of reserved seats after setting aside last year’s verdict that had declared the party was entitled to reserved seats for women and minorities in the National and provincial assemblies. 

The court, by a majority of 7-3, had accepted the review petitions filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) and Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) against the reserved seats verdict delivered last year on July 12.

 The majority judges, including Justice Aminuddin, Justice Hilali, Justice Afghan, Justice Hassan, Justice Kakar, Justice Farooq and Justice Najafi, allowed all the civil review petitions.

“Relief could not have been granted to PTI by invoking the power of complete justice under Article 187 of the Constitution,” said a 40-page detailed judgment.

The court declared that Article 187 could not have been invoked to grant relief to the PTI, adding that the facts and circumstances of the case did not require the application of the Article.

“The exercise of authority purportedly under Article 187 of the Constitution to grant relief to a party which was not before the court, to remove from office MNAs and MPAs who had been declared elected and who were not before the court and to issue declarations and directives which were outside the scope of the statutory or constitutional authority of this court was not warranted,” the detailed judgment held.

The court declared that the majority judgment, being in excess of the jurisdiction vested in the court and being contrary to the statutory and constitutional provisions identified, suffers from errors apparent on the face of the record which float on the surface.

“It, therefore, has to be set aside,” the detailed judgment held. The court noted that relief was granted using Article 187, which was beyond the Constitution, adding that the majority judgment was against the record and the Constitution.

The detailed judgment noted that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and seven other judges had given the majority decision in favour of PTI being awarded the reserved seats.

“All judges agreed that the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) was not entitled to the reserved seats,” the detailed verdict held, adding that the court had unanimously dismissed both appeals of the SIC. The court further noted that the SIC did not file any petition against the dismissal of its appeals.

“SIC lawyer Faisal Siddiqi stated: ‘In this loss, there is my victory’,” the verdict mentioned. The detailed verdict held that the Supreme Court can indeed issue directives to ensure complete justice, but the use of Article 187 must be based on facts and law.

The verdict further noted that the PTI did not request reserved seats at any judicial forum, adding that the PTI was not a party before the ECP or the Peshawar High Court.

Similarly, the court held that the PTI did not challenge the PHC decision in the Supreme Court, adding that its application in the apex court was only for legal assistance.

“Due to these reasons, relief under Article 187 could not be granted to the PTI,” the verdict held.

Regarding the SIC, the court noted that the central judgment unanimously dismissed the appeals, stating they were not entitled to the seats.

“In the PTI case, it was not a party at any forum, so the relief granted in the central decision cannot stand,” the verdict ruled.

The detailed verdict noted that the Supreme Court never barred the PTI from contesting elections, adding that none of the 80 independent candidates claimed to be PTI candidates or entitled to reserved seats.

“Independently elected candidates who had freely and voluntarily joined the SIC within 3 days as required by the Constitution were no longer to remain parliamentary members of the SIC and their membership was transferred to the PTI without ascertaining their opinion and without any request or claim by them or by the PTI or SIC,” the judgment noted.

Any person whose name the PTI leadership chose to include in the list of candidates for reserved seats was to be returned elected in proportion to the general seats allegedly secured by it. The electorate had never had an opportunity to consider this list or to cast votes in support of or against it. 

The people were deprived of the mandate to elect candidates to the reserved seats, no doubt indirectly, and the matter was now placed in the hands of and made a gift by the party leadership to the persons it liked as a consequence of the court orders, it said, adding: “The Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to interpret the statutes and the Constitution. Insofar as it remains within those limits its authority is both considerable and absolute. It cannot be called into question by any other department of government or even by another constitutional institution, be it the Legislature or the Executive. 

The authority to interpret the law and the Constitution does not, however, confer on the courts the authority to rewrite the Constitution or the law. The will of the legislature and the will of the Constitution-makers delegated as it is by the people has to be respected and given effect to. 

It cannot be negated or usurped by the judiciary by scribing artificial meanings to the clear language of the Constitution or by derogating from the plain meaning of its words. Any Court or judge, including the Supreme Court and its judges, has no jurisdiction to read their personal likes and dislikes into the Constitution or to ignore or circumvent its commands.”

Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” was released at midnight Friday to much anticipation from her fans.

Swift wrote and produced the album with Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback while she was on the European leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour. 

“I can’t tell you how proud I am to share this with you, an album that just feels so right,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post early Friday morning just after the album was released. “A forever thank you goes out to my mentors and friends Max and Shellback for helping me paint this self portrait. If you thought the big show was wild, perhaps you should come and take a look behind the curtain…The Life of a Showgirl is out now.”

The pop star announced the album, which has 12 tracks, in August on “New Heights,” the podcast hosted by her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.

Swift, Martin and Shellback have written several of Swift’s past hits, including “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off,” but this is the first album to only feature their collaborations. 

“We knew that we had to bring the best ideas we’ve ever had,” Swift said about working with Martin and Shellback when she announced the album.

In celebration of the new music, a nearly 90-minute show, “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” will play at AMC Theatres nationwide Friday through Sunday. 

The show includes the premiere of a music video for the album’s first track, “The Fate of Ophelia,” behind-the-scenes footage from the filming of the music video, stories behind each song and lyric videos, Swift said.

“Looks like it’s time to brush off that Eras Tour outfit or orange cardigan,” Swift wrote on social media announcing the show. “Dancing is optional but very much encouraged.”

“The Life of a Showgirl” became the most pre-saved album in Spotify history, the streaming service said on Sept. 1. The last release to set that record was Swift’s 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” which came out in April 2024.